Last year I kept track of the Steelers' weekly missed tackles for advanced statistics to track the team's progress in limiting missed tackles. It led to the first ever DKPS tackle awards, highlighting Cam Heyward and Stephon Tuitt among others.
This year we revisit those awards with compiled statistics for the same categories we discussed last year.
Devin Bush surged to the top of the team's tackle totals with 12 tackles against the Ravens to give him a total of 109 on the season. He also led the team with the most missed tackles at 14. As a rookie, Bush saw plenty of playing time and had to learn quickly how to cover and tackle in several different situations.
Here's a comprehensive look at all the Steelers' defenders in 2019. The tackles, snaps and missed tackle statistics were all compiled by ProFootballReference.com:
Find percentage and whiff percentage were two statistics I calculated last year. The find percentage calculates the percentage of plays which a defender had an opportunity to make a tackle out of all of their defensive snaps. The whiff percentage is the percentage of missed tackles of all their opportunities.
It's important to note that, in theory, a defense wants the higher find percentages on their team to be among their defensive linemen, linebackers and other players that play primarily in the box. That's exactly what happened as we get to the first awards.
FINDERS KEEPERS AWARD
Vince Williams, Devin Bush, Terrell Edmunds
Vince Williams had the highest find percentage of the team because of his way of finding the ball in limited snaps. He's definitely earned the three year extension the Steelers signed him to in 2018.
But right behind Williams was the rookie, Devin Bush, who saw the seventh most snaps on the defense but recorded the most tackles and most finds of the team. Bush had to adapt to various situations all season, playing inside linebacker within the tackles, covering tight ends and sometimes receivers, and sniffing out misdirection plays from opponents.
As far as rookie seasons go, he was very good. Bush didn't just have splash plays from his athleticism, he also had several heads up plays where he displayed the wherewithal of a veteran. Watch how he dissected this screen pass to Joe Mixon. He sniffs it out and gets out in front of the lineman to cut out Mixon's legs before he can get started:
Terrell Edmunds also had a high find percentage as the team's strong safety. He helped against the run all season and, with the addition of Minkah Fitzpatrick, could play within Keith Butler's scheme more to be a tackler over the middle. His 105 tackles along with Bush's 109 made them the first two Steelers' defenders with over 100 tackles since Lawrence Timmons recorded 114 in 2016.
The Steelers haven't had multiple defenders with over 100 tackles since 2012 when they had three in Timmons, Larry Foote and Ryan Clark. Before that they also had three defenders with over 100 tackles in 2010, their last Super Bowl appearance, with Timmons, James Farrior and James Harrison.
The fact that they're developing young players that are finding the ball at a higher rate in the box is a good sign for the progress of the defense.
TOP TACKLERS AWARD
Mark Barron, Cam Heyward, Tyson Alualu
This award went to the players with the best tackling percentages with at least a minimum of 300 snaps. Mark Barron didn't have a very good year with the Steelers, but he did a good job of tackling within the box against the run. His struggles came in coverage, where the Steelers were expecting him to come up big.
But Heyward has always fit the role as one of the team's top tacklers. His dominance on the interior of the defense is what merited him first team All-Pro honors. Watch how he dispatches Quenton Nelson, arguably the NFL's best offensive linemen, before joining Bush in a tackle of Marlon Mack:
Heyward not only dominated at shedding offensive linemen, he dominated once he found his target. Joining them was Tyson Alualu who, despite only 433 snaps on the season, quietly put together a solid season of tackling as a backup.
MR. EFFICIENCY AWARD
Cameron Heyward, Tyson Alualu, Vince Williams
Heyward and Alualu both missed few tackles and found the ball plenty on the season. But joining them was Williams, who saw less time this season with the additions of Barron and Bush, but still made an impact.
Williams has consistently been a physical force in the middle of the Steelers' defense that was great at blocking up running backs in pass protection and taking on blockers at the point of attack. Despite his decrease in snaps, Williams never complained and made the most of his opportunities.
Watch how he leads the charge in blowing up this power run by Mark Ingram. The Ravens pull a guard and a tight end as lead blockers, but Williams blows up both along with T.J. Watt, leading to a tackle for loss:
Every defense needs their reliable players that can win at the point of attack and not miss tackles. These veterans leading the way are part of the backbone of the defense.
KINGS OF THE WHIFF
Bud Dupree, T.J. Watt, Devin Bush
The biggest culprits of missed tackles were Dupree, Watt, Joe Haden and Bush. Haden had a higher missed tackle percentage than Bush, but being a cornerback often lends itself to not being the tackle machine of the defense.
Instead I wanted to focus on the linebackers and where they did miss tackles. Watt and Dupree were the aggressive duo that missed tackles after blowing up the edges and sometimes missing out on ball carriers. Bush's missed tackles were a concern, but a learnable one.
Ryan Shazier used to lead the team in missed tackles during his time because he would overshoot his gaps and get ahead of himself with his speed. Bush has that speed but is more controlled. But his missed tackles came in small fundamental breakdowns that he showed improvement on as the year continued.
Watch this missed tackle on Austin Ekeler where Bush had him targeted, but put his head down and failed to wrap the slippery back:
The tackling faults of this team are smaller than they were last season and are a vast improvement over the state of the defense in 2017. It's a very good sign for the young defense to have this many active tacklers and few true tackling problems.
MORE CLASSROOM
Jan. 3: Johnson's next steps
Jan. 2: Nelson fits like a glove
Dec. 31: Bud wasn’t just on a tear
Dec. 30: Snell’s case for 2020
